The Media Leader Podcast

Taboola has built a multibillion-dollar business by making it easy for publishers to recommend content to other parts of the web in exchange for a fee. Now, as thoughts about generative AI dominate conversations in media, the company has just launched Taboola Generative AI which aims to "revolutionise" how publishers create personalised ads.CEO Adam Singolda spoke to Omar Oakes about the company's beta test of this AI tech, which began in February and has just been rolled out formally to all English-speaking Taboola partners. Singolda and Oakes spoke during Cannes Lions in June, so the pair also chatted about goings-on at the Croisette.In addition, Singolda has some frank advice for anyone who wants to start their own business.This is a bonus episode, distinct from our usual Thursday show. We're generous like that.---Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderTwitter: @TheMediaLeader YouTube: The Media Leader

What does the future of digital publishing, and in particular, digital news publishing, look like? Raymond Snoddy, the former presenter of BBC News Channel’s NewsWatch and a longtime columnist for The Media Leader, and Richard Reeves, MD of the Association of Online Publishers, join the podcast to discuss.Digital publishing has been in a near-constant state of development and transition since it began supplanting traditional press two decades ago. But with the recent dissolution of BuzzFeed News, the bankruptcy and sale of Vice Media, and ever-quickening developments in generative artificial intelligence, today’s digital publishing leaders perhaps have their hands full now more than they ever have.In a wide-ranging conversation, the pair spoke to Jack Benjamin talked about publishers' progress in defending their intellectual property from "scrupulous" tech vendors and large language AI models, the challenge of making hard news appealing to young people, and the importance of consumers' trust in news.On the increasing popularity of comedic news content on short-form video platforms, Snoddy said: "The only hope for legitimate news and ultimately the survival of legitimate democracies is to keep focusing on trust, accuracy, meaning, explanation... if the world is totally dominated by the funnies, we’re all in a very serious position indeed.”---This episode was edited by our production partner Trisonic.Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderTwitter: @TheMediaLeader YouTube: The Media Leader

“You’ve got to do a different job on pricing.”That is the core theme of the new book Madison Avenue Makeover, according to its author Michael Farmer.Farmer, a former consultant, is also the author of Madison Avenue Manslaughter, which the Financial Times called a “damning critique of the modern advertising industry”.His latest book, a sequel, addresses attempts by Huge CEO Mat Baxter to transform the IPG agency and restore its dynamism. But as reporter Ahmed Elkady writes in his review, the raison d’etre of Madison Avenue Makeover is to serve as the industry’s guide for what another paradigm of agency relationships could look like.Farmer previously spoke to editor Omar Oakes in a 2022 interview in which he discussed whether the industry had made progress since Manslaughter‘s release in 2015. Now, in a new interview with The Media Leader, the strategy consultant returns to explore the themes and key takeaways of his sequel.Elkady sat down with Farmer to speak in detail about its development and key lessons for the industry. A partial transcript of the conversation has previously been published, and now you can listen to the audio in full.---This episode was edited by our production partner Trisonic.Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderTwitter: @TheMediaLeader YouTube: The Media Leader

Media industry professionals have been in something of a crisis.Declining mental health, uncertainty over hybrid work policies, slow-moving DE&I policies, and still-large disparities between men and women in career progression and pay. These issues are not necessarily unique to media, and there have been improvements made over time in many areas, but there is doubtless more our industry could be doing to improve the lives of its workers.So, how should we unpack all of these challenges? Columnist and Creativebrief editorial director Nicola Kemp returns to the podcast to discuss, alongside reporter Ella Sagar.“The Covid pandemic has created a toxic storm of stress," said Kemp. "And I think that is really having a huge impact on the workplace right now. We might have stopped writing those headlines on the Great Resignation and moved on to the Great Regret, but the reality is a lot of people are still planning to leave the roles they’re in in the next 12 months.”---This episode was edited by our production partner Trisonic.Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderTwitter: @TheMediaLeader YouTube:  The Media Leader

Future's new CEO Jon Steinberg is keen to build things.In his career he has helped create two new media start-ups in BuzzFeed and Cheddar, but in his new role as CEO of Future, he has taken charge of numerous media properties continuing to transition from print to digital.Steinberg joins the podcast in an interview with editor Omar Oakes. The pair discuss changes Steinberg is bringing to Future, the value of attending Cannes Lions, the state of the digital publishing industry, and how developments in generative AI will change editorial processes.“Digital subscriptions is a huge opportunity for us," said Steinberg. "This will be a long process, building a digital subscription business. As you’ve seen with The New York Times, or The Washington Post, it’s not something that happens overnight, and that’s one of my long-term goals.”---This episode was edited by our production partner Trisonic.Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

Why are media and creative so siloed?That was the question implicitly posed by our editor Omar Oakes in his latest column. Referencing industry veteran Laurence's Green's speech at a recent Thinkbox conference, Oakes questioned Cannes' reason for appearing separately as both a celebration of creativity and as a tech and media industry conference.Oakes and Green both joined Jack Benjamin on The Media Leader Podcast to unpack the argument. In a wide-ranging conversation, the trio also spoke about the importance of creative in driving effectiveness, the industry's struggles to promote sustainability and pessimistic trends in digital news consumption unveiled by this week's release of the Reuters Institute Digital News Report."The mood music in the industry is firstly, can we just have that richer mix of work," said Green. "Yes, reward the purpose stuff, but find a way to the great stuff that pays the mortgage. But also, can we just make sure that we're not using our creative skills to greenwash rather than using our creative skills to more profoundly change business. Those are the things that are in the ether around Cannes this year."The episode kicks off a new panel format for the podcast, which includes a 'quick hits' section covering recent stories from the around the industry.---Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

"There's so much change all the time in terms of new channels popping up, the way ID and privacy fit together and create challenges; there's just so much to constantly be on top of and ahead of."AudienceProject's UK commercial director Martin Bentley was one of several Future of Brands conference delegates reflecting on the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the media industry in the near future.Speaking with reporters Jack Benjamin and Ella Sagar at London conference in April, Bentley, as well as Neil Robinson, EMEA advisory for media, tech, sports, and entertainment at Salesforce, Nick Henthorn, UK VP of sales at InfoSum, and Mark Cross, engagement director at JICMAIL, also gave personal takeaways and learnings from the event.This episode was edited by our production partner Trisonic. For more on our events, including our upcoming The Future of Media conference, check out our events portal.---Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

Are people even paying attention to the ads they are being served? That question has opened up a can of worms for an industry that is intensely concerned with return on investment.Two leaders of the attention economy, Lumen Research's Mike Follett and Amplified Intelligence's Karen Nelson-Field, joined reporter Jack Benjamin for a discussion on the positives, pitfalls, and recent developments within the evolving space.---This episode was edited by our production partners Trisonic. You can find and listen to all our episodes on our website or wherever you get your podcasts. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to be notified when we release our next episode.

Are ambitious marketers suffering from a 'Steve Jobs complex'? Is Sir John Hegarty right to say that marketers and most marketing is simply "boring"? Is there any point doing "purpose" in marketing"?These are among the key questions answered by a trio of media and advertising leaders who joined The Media Leader editor Omar Oakes to discuss the state of marketing and key themes from The Future of Brands.Craig Tuck, chief revenue officer at Ozone, Rachel Forde, former UK CEO of media agency UM, and Chloe Davies, head of social impact at ad agency Lucky Generals, joined Oakes in front of a live audience at the Future of Brands venue in central London.The panel discussed key learnings from the event's invite-only brand leaders' club, in which some of the UK's top brand marketers discussed their challenges and how to improve the conditions for sales and advertising, as well as key insights from Oakes' interview with advertising legend Sir John Hegarty.---Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

Lee Brown, head of advertising business & platform at Spotify, speaks to Omar Oakes about how the global audio giant hopes to significantly grow its advertising revenue in response to founder Daniel Ek's "20% challenge".Brown had been on a salesperson hiring spree, but then the digital media market slowed down and the company began making layoffs like most of the big tech giants in recent months. Ek, meanwhile, admitted Spotify had over-invested in podcasts in particular, after acquiring big names such as Joe Rogan and Barack Obama.Brown speaks candidly about how Spotify has ambitions to build ‘the world’s #1 audio network”, as well as its strategy around talent, technology and content. He also pulls no punches when it comes to how digital audio should be measured and how it should be traded by media agencies and advertisers.This interview was recorded at The Future of Audio Europe in London in March 2023. For more on our events, including our upcoming The Future of Brands conference, check out our events portal.---Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

"Reframe the problem," says renowned marketing consultant and author Richard Shotton in his new book on behavioural psychology and its impact on advertising and media.In his new book, The Illusion of Choice, Shotton describes the various psychological biases (16-and-a-half, to be precise) that influence what we buy.Reviewing the title in The Media Leader, VCCP Media's joint chief strategy officer Steve Taylor called it a page turner and an “antidote” to “a sea of increasingly ineffectual sameness” in marketing.Shotton came on The Media Leader Podcast to discuss the book, and how knowledge of psychology can be a benefit to any media professional.---Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

The Media Leader's new columnist Nicola Kemp joins Omar Oakes to talk about the progress women have made in making media a more equitable career and the barriers which still remain. Kemp, who is editorial director of Creativebrief, warns if we want to stop women from being edited out of the media industry, we must be honest about addressing burnout and "fake flexibility".What advice does she have for women in media and what more can leaders do?Read the first in her new monthly column: "Face the truth: women are still being edited out of the media industry"---Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

Have you ever thought about moving across the pond? Two media industry Brits that have recently made the jump over into the massive, frenetic media environment in America—more specifically, the Big Apple. They’re eager to share what they feel is different about the media industry Stateside as compared to the UK.Wayne Blodwell is the founder and CEO of digital advertising consultancy TPA Digital, formerly known as The Programmatic Advisory, as well as a podcast host in his own right for The AdPod. His new monthly column for The Media Leader, ‘An Englishman in New York’, debuted in February. In it, Blodwell discusses the challenges and opportunities that the American media market offers.Making her second appearance on the podcast, Amy Williams is the founder and CEO of purpose-powered ad platform Good-Loop, which she began in 2016 to help brands do charitable work at scale. Williams moved to the States earlier this year, where she hopes to grow Good-Loop.---Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

We're back for Season 2 with a banger!Advertising legend Sir John Hegarty speaks to Omar Oakes in the first of a two-part interview - the second of which will be at our Future of Brands event in London (25/26 April). Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

Jamie Barnard, former Unilever in-house lawyer and CEO of privacy and data governance platform Compliant, joins Omar Oakes to discuss what he learned from his time at the coal face as a large global advertiser grappled with data privacy and media ethics and how he is now trying to help brands develop ethical media policies for an advertiser-funded internet.Merry Xmas + see you in the new year for Season 2!Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

JC Decaux's co-CEO in the UK, Dallas Wiles, tells Omar Oakes why the outdoor media company thinks 2023 will the year of the public screen. He reveals why, contrary to what many predicted, people have not fled cities during the pandemic and we have already arrived at "the new normal".Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

The basic relationship between reach and business results has "eroded dramatically", Zenith UK chief strategy officer Richard Kirk argues in an opinion piece for The Media Leader. In some cases, this fundamental principle of commercial media no longer exists, the Publicis Groupe media agency has discovered.Kirk speaks to Omar Oakes about why the relationship between audience reach and an advertiser's sales has broken down, why 'Right Reach' is a better predictor of success, and what this means in practice for media planning and buying. Read Kirk's Strategy Leaders column: We can better manage media fragmentation by measuring ‘Right Reach’Strategy Leaders features on the Thursday edition of The Media Leader‘s daily bulletin with thought leadership, news and analysis dedicated to excellence in commercial media strategy.Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

Kris Boger, general manager, UK, global business solutions at TikTok, talks to Omar Oakes about how and why this social media platform is going big on commerce, what advertisers and agencies are asking TikTok as they try to make sense of this platform, and whether questions TikTok parent Bytedance’s Chinese ownership are fair. Find out more about our upcoming event in London The Future of Audio and check out the outline agenda.Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

Amy Williams, founder and CEO of ethical advertising platform Good-Loop, tells Omar Oakes why creating more sustainability is akin to ending the practice of 'fast fashion' and how the industry needs to change to make advertising and media production carbon neutral.We go into more depth about how to confront the climate emergency in advertising and media in our webinar with The Guardian, featuring the newsbrand's environment editor Fiona Harvey, the Conscious Advertising Network, Purpose Disruptors, Heineken, Deliveroo and Essence, discussing practical steps to get carbon neutral and how to avoid messaging pitfalls.If you missed FVTA Global this week, where were you? Check out our reports on the key sessions with the global advertising bosses at Netflix and Disney+, each of which are now offering cheaper, ad-funded tiers on their streaming services.Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

Dave Randall, Future's commercial director, discusses with Omar Oakes why using first-party data well is so important to the publisher and how its audience data platform Aperture has developed. Dave and Omar also discuss how 'specialist interest websites' and TV stand out in a Future survey about trust in media, and how a modern publisher establishes 'church v state' lines between editorial and commercial when journalists are asked to write sponsored content.Our own 'church v state' disclaimer: this episode is sponsored by Future. The conversation topics were agreed in advance but the conversation was recorded and edited by The Media Leader's editorial team without intervention.Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

Mudit Jaju, global ecommerce lead at Wavemaker talks to reporter Ella Sagar about how the retail media ecosystem has changed since the pandemic, who does retail media really well and what new partnerships between ITV and Channel 4 and retail media partners mean for the industry.Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

Nick Manning, founder of media agency Manning Gottlieb OMD and media consultant, talks about his recent column in which he argues advertisers can no longer be passive observers as their spending funds a media ecosystem which is suffering from a "crisis of trust".Notes:Nick's column: "How advertisers should deal with the crisis of truth in media"The editor: "We will champion talent, sustainability and trust in media"Join us on Weds 30 November for a special presentation we're running with The Guardian: "Confronting the climate emergency" - Omar Oakes speaks to industry leaders, activists and The Guardian's environment editor about how advertisers and media companies should respond to the climate crisis with practical steps and priorities. Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

England footballer Jill Scott — part of the Euro 2022-winning team — speaks to talkSPORT reporter Jordan Jarrett Bryan at our recent Future of Media event in London.Jill and Jordan spoke about her experience of dealing with the media as a women’s footballer, how media attitudes towards women’s football have changed, and how far away the women’s game is now with being seen as an attractive area for brands to invest in advertising and sponsorship. **As seen (sort of!) on ITV's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!**If you missed this year's two-day Future of Media conference, don't worry: we'll be back in 2023. Check out the agenda.Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

Route Research CEO Denise Turner talks to Omar Oakes about how the outdoor media sector has recovered in 2022 after Covid-19 lockdowns in the UK and what the 'new normal' looks like as more people regularly work fro home.Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

Omnicom Media Group’s head of futures Phil Rowley has recently joined The Media Leader‘s stellar list of regular columnists. His debut column argues that predictions can still be highly useful even when they’re wrong.Rowley speaks to Omar Oakes about the science of predicting, whether predictions are getting harder and whether brands are becoming more conservative when it comes to innovation in media and marketing.Of course there is a lot to say about what’s happening at Twitter under the rule of Elon Musk, as well as Meta’s huge investment in the “metaverse”.Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

BARB CEO Justin Sampson discusses what's next for the UK TV measurement company as independent audience data for Netflix and Disney+ becomes available for the first time. Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn - The Media LeaderTwitter @TheMediaLeader YouTube - The Media Leader

ITV CEO Carolyn McCall speaks to Omar Oakes about the launch of ITV's new streaming service ITVX, where it fits into her vision to digitally transform the UK's biggest commercial broadcaster, and what's next for ad-funded television as Netflix and Disney+ enter the arena.This interview was recorded at The Future of Media, Mediatel's flagship conference, in London on 13 October.

The #Forgotten500k campaign sees media owners provide free ad space for a campaign to make an antiviral available on the NHS for immunocompromised people who don't respond to regular Covid-19 vaccines. Omar speaks to mSix&partners executive chair Jess Burley about why it's so important, campaigner Mark Oakey whose life and been put on hold for more than two years, and Dr Tony Pagliuca for a medical perspective. Find out more about the campaign.Hosted by Omar Oakes, editor of The Media Leader. Check out The Media Leader's website and sign up to our newsletters, or keep up to date with us on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

The Media Leader Podcast features opinions and analysis about the media and advertising industry. Our mission is to champion excellence, inclusion and courage in media.